Being
a musical act and being raw - unfettered, real -
is one of the most farcical paradoxes; being without
pretence is often the greatest pretence… just look
at The Vines. Michael deWolfe in Meet me at Jerry's
breaks the paradox; there is rawness. Admittedly,
debut albums tend to be raw, as the artist finds
their place in the musical world. That Meet me
at Jerry's is deWolfe's debut album is evident,
but there's another aspect to his rawness - it's
not distortion pedals, it's the honesty in his music.
The sound of the album immediately invokes the idea
that it is a live album. This was probably unintentional,
but there's a low-fi, organic quality to the production
- providing a moody, swampy bass - but there's enough
refinement almost to let you hear plectrums strumming.
This intriguing ambiguity in rawness and polish
permeates every aspect of Meet me at Jerry's.
deWolfe's voice certainly has power (soaring in
"The Sky is Burning" and strutting in "The Devil
goes Down"), but this is balanced by a feminine
quality - for he has a high register - that makes
"Breathless" all the more haunting.
deWolfe
has strong songwriting skills - opening Meet
me at Jerry's with a killer "la la la la" hook,
following with the sass of "The Devil goes Down",
whilst channelling Bob Dylan circa-"Highway 61 Revisited"
in "Born Again". Despite his genre-hopping, deWolfe's
confessional tone remains a constant as he explores
love, religion, even politics (calling John Howard
a "little man" in "Wild Harvest". The situations
are simple - the title of "Lime Spiders" says it
all - but this is no weakness; there is a strong
sense of reality.
Being deWolfe's debut album, it is unsurprising
that the editing is less than judicious. For every
solid five-minute song, there is a good three-minute
song within it. Nevertheless, deWolfe shows much
potential on Meet me at Jerry's, as well
as respect for the listener. His honesty ensures
that there is equality between the listener and
the performer - a refreshing thing to encounter.
There is as much rawness in an open position chord
as there is in a power chord.
Tracklisting:
1. meet me at jerry's
2. breathless
3. devil goes down
4. lime spiders
5. wild harvest
6. i go to pieces
7. silky kisses
8. the sky is burning
9. inside this room
10. born again
11. where wildflowers grow
12. linking hands
13. miracles
Reviewed
by Michael Tran
